Modular palletized shipping containers are assembled from a base or "pallet," a sidewall or "sleeve," and a cover or "top pallet." The components are preferably made of plastic that is shaped to be rigid, stackable, and enable easy handling by forklifts and personnel. These shipping containers permit compact storage of goods for transport and they facilitate easy loading and unloading of shipping vehicles. The shipping container components are designed for easy assembly and disassembly using removable connectors or clips.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,541 discloses modular palletized containers that include a base pallet, side walls (or sleeve), and a top pallet to form a strong container suited for transporting cargo. The connector disclosed in the '541 patent is suited to minimize the labor necessary to assemble or disassemble the container because it has a U-shaped connector portion for attachment to a sleeve and it has an integrally molded snapping clip that can quickly engage a slot on a container pallet. A sleeve connector that is molded in a U-shape is strong and relatively rigid, but it may complicate assembly when hand room is minimal. The use of snaps makes assembly quick, but disassembly may be more difficult when numerous clips are used along one edge of a container sleeve because after a first snap has been disengaged and another is in the process being disengaged, the first snap can become inadvertently re-engaged. Further, during assembly, it may be difficult to determine whether all of the snaps in a row have become fully engaged because one or more of the snap elements may be in the appropriate slot, but not in an engaged position. This can result in a substandard assembly situation in which the container can become unstable and unable to retain stored cargo.
Thus, it is desirable to have a modular palletized container clip with a positive locking action to ensure complete assembly of the container components, provide a connector portion that is visible in a locked position, and eliminate the possibility of inadvertent re-engagement of the clips when the container is being disassembled.